Marin County Fair called a triumph

DESPITE A HEAT wave that curbed early attendance at the Marin County Fair, capacity crowds packed festivities over the weekend, and county officials chalked it up as another festive triumph.

Fair attendance of 114,200 was down from last year's record 122,000, and the sizzling weather with highs in the 90s that roasted the county for the first two days of the event "may have had an impact," noted fair chief Jim Farley.

Admission receipts totaled about $1.2 million, down from last year's $1.4 million. About $1.1 million was chalked up in food and beverage sales, down from last year's $1.2 million. Parking revenue totaled $111,000, up from $105,000.

The Wailers drew the largest crowd among eight concert headliners, packing the lagoon island on Saturday.

The Chinese Circus of Beijing drew capacity crowds over the five days, attracting 12,000 visitors to 15 performances in the 800-seat Marin Veterans' Memorial Auditorium.

Police reported few problems. Deputies enforcing a "gang garb" dress code said they saw no one, including a number of gang members, who wore anything advertising their gang affiliation.

"I'm told this year's fair was the quietest we've had in quite some time," Undersheriff Mike Ridgway said. "I can say with certainty that we made seven arrests over the five-day run — three for simple public intoxication; one for a strong-armed robbery; two for misdemeanor domestic violence; and one for public intoxication, resisting arrest and battery on a police officer."

"I am proud of the leading-edge collaboration built between the Marin County Fair and the Marin County Office of Education and the partnership with School Rules Marin," Farley said. "The 2013 Marin County Fair celebrated teachers and students in so many ways — from exhibits to contests to performers — from schools across Marin County."

County schools chief Mary Jane Burke called the fair a big success that reflected innovation, community engagement and a "look into the future of education" that is well worth investing in.

Farley said that the most popular exhibits included the Virtual Learning Center, which featured a virtual dance game, an airplane simulator dubbed Viper 2.0 built by San Rafael students, a 3-D printer and "world's largest" pop-up art book created during the fair by a Youth in Arts team for submission to the Guiness Book of World Records.

Farley also noted that a new educational technology contest proved popular. In the inaugural year of the "quick pics" contest, 150 images taken at the fair were entered through smartphones and posted on Instagram. And more than 300 images taken on smartphones before the fair were displayed in a "mobilography" exhibit.

Farley is already planning the 2014 fair, his last production before retiring after four decades at the county, where he began as an usher at Marin Center, rising to take over fair duties in 1987.

"In my aloha year, we plan to offer more family fun than ever before — from marching bands to spectacular fireworks to family-friendly attractions," Farley said. "I hope to create more magic for fair guests in 2014."